Transport and logistics from around the world.

Author: peterowinje
(Page 1 of 12)

It appears that car tyre safety has been overlooked or taken for granted by many motorists who do not care to know much about the tyres on their vehicle.Most motorists lack adequate tyre safety information or tips that can prevent severe accidents. Many drivers, mostly ladies, leave their tyre safety in the hands of roadside vulcanizers who may also be clueless. This may create more chances of severe injury or loss of life for the road users.
It is important that your car tyres can save you from untimely death or unwanted injuries,if properly managed with safety. On the other hand, your car tyres can also cause untimely death or unwanted damage if poorly managed and this is the reason why tyre safety is very important, mostly to prevent untimely death and injury.
Many road users have undoubtedly lost their precious lives on road accidents due to tyre failure. For instance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that over 400 deaths occurred every year due to tyre failures or blowouts and 78, 000 crashes occurred every year.
The frequency of tyre blowouts is highly worrisome.For instance, tyre blowout statistics also reveals that majority of accidents that occurred from 2005 to 2007, and involving over 2 million vehicles were caused by tyre related issues.
Here are tyre safety tips you must know:
1. Know your tyre pressure: Most times, motorists do not take time to know the proper tyre pressure recommended by the manufacturer of their tyres. They leave this importanttyresafetymeasure into the hands of roadside vulcanizers who may also be clueless about it.Motorists must try to know the pressure of their car tyreincluding the spare tyre every month.
2. You must check your tyre tread: A tread worn-out tyre is dangerous because it creates more chances for the tyre to slip or slid which may lead to unwanted accident.The adhesive friction of a tyre on the road surface onwhich it movesmust not be in doubt. Motorists must ensure to check their tyre tread every month.
3. You must maintain proper wheel alignment between the two tyres: This is essential if you want to enjoy the maximum lifespan of your tyre, and stop your vehicle from changing direction suddenly when driving due to imbalanced alignment. Therefore, every motorist needs to balance their vehicle alignment.
4. Always use the tyre size recommended by your vehicle manufacturer: Every manufacturer of any product has useable information about its products to the consumers or users. Such information or warning must not be taken for granted or ignored if you desire to enjoy the product, most especially when the information has to do with safety.
5. Do not use ageing tyre: Every tyre has an expiry date; you need to replace them when due.Using ageing tyres creates more chances for accidents to occur.
Life is good and your life is precious; the issue of tyre safety must be a major concern for all motorists than any other category of road users.Every road user must not be ignorant of potential safety hazards that may come as a result of poor tyre management. Every road user must rise up to the task to reduce high rate of accident related to tyre failure. It pays to be safety conscious.

You must know the tire in your car. In fact, you are at risk if you don’t know the tires that move you around, l personally asked some drivers or motorist two or more questions about their car tires but, their response to my questions show to me that their car tires may put them at risk or bring to them untimely death. Why? It is because they lack adequate knowledge on the tires that move them around.
It is unfortunate that most drivers don’t have any vital information on the round black objects that move them around. Such motorists or drivers may pose a high risk on themselves and other road users that is why it is important for you as a motorist to know much about the tires on your car. Here is some of the important information you need to know:
M/S; M+S; MS or M&S: When you see any of these letters on your tire it means such tire has the ability to move your vehicle on a snow and muddy area, with these letters on your tires show that the tires meet the Rubber Manufacture Association guidelines for mud and snow tire.
The Tire Width: 235 is the width of a tire measure in millimeters (mm). It is usually measure from sidewall to sidewall. However, the measurement is determined by the size of the rim.
The Tire Aspect Ratio: Aspect ratio is a number that shows the height of the tire from the head to the top of the tread. This is always expressed in percentage of the width. For example, if the aspect ratio of a tire is 75 then the height of the tire is 75% of the given width i.e. (7 5×235/100) =176.25mm. Therefore, the aspect ratio is 175.25mm; hence, the smaller the aspect ratio the wider the tire in relation to is height.
The Tire Traction: Tire traction is usually rated as AA; A; B or C. AA is the highest grade in the rating follow by A, B and C respectively. This rating base on the tire ability to stop a car on wet concrete or asphalt, however, when you see a tire carrying any of these letters on its sidewall, it is simply, showing the tire traction ability of the tire. It is usually written like this on the tire Traction AA; Traction A; Traction B or Traction

Temperature: The tire temperature rating is a measure of how well the tire dissipates heat and how well it handles the buildup of heat. The temperature grade is applied to a properly inflated tire that is not over loaded. However, overloading, under inflation or excessive speed are all notable factors that can make your tire to build up heat and excessive heat build up on your tire can cause your tire to wear out faster and it may even lead to tire failure. It is important to note that, tire temperature is usually rated as A, B or C. So when you check the side wall of your tire and you see any of these following: Temperature A or Temperature B or Temperature C. It simply shows you the temperature ability of the tire.

The Tread Wear: First and foremost, please note that the higher the tread wear number the longer you can expect the tread to last. Before the tread numbers can be generated, the tire must be tested in controlled conditions on government test track. However, since no one will be expected to drive his or her own car
on exactly, the same surface at the same speed as the government testing track then, the numbers are not accurate indicator of how long your tread will actually last, but it is a good relative measure, therefore you can expect the tire that carries or has lager number to last longer than the one with smaller number. However, the tread wear number is usually written on the tire side wall like this: Tread wear 440 etc.
Service Description: The service description of a tire consists of two major areas which are Load rating and Speed rating.

Load Rating: This is also a number correlates to the maximum load rated for the tire. It shows to us the maximum Kg that a tire can carry. Therefore, a higher number means that the tire has the higher loading capacity. Nevertheless, a separate note on the tire usually written after the loading rating indicates the loading rating of your tire at a given inflation pressure. E.g.

Max. Load 880 kg
(35-psi) Max. Press. Standard load
This is an example of how the load rating and the recommended air pressure are written on your tires.
Speed Rating: The letter that follows the load rating indicates the maximum speed allowable for such tire as long as the weight is at or below the rated load. For instance, letter S indicates that the tire can handle speed up to 112 mph i.e. (180.246 kph).
The Tire Manufacturing Date: Whenever you want to buy or get a new tire, one of the first things you need to consider or look for is the manufacturing date of the tire you want to buy. This is because a tire is expected to expire after six (6) of its production or manufacturing date. It does not matter whether such tire is used or not, a tire expires after six (6) year of production. Why? It is because tires deteriorate naturally day after day and at the expiration of six (6) years the quality of such tires must have reduced drastically. Hence, it is possible to buy a brand new tire that has not been used before which is indeed an expired tire from the store or seller, that is why you need to check the manufacturing date of the tire before buying it.
How to Check a Tire Manufacturing Date: If you do not know how to check the date from the sidewall of a tire you may end up buying an expired tire. However, the tire manufacturing date is usually different from the common way we are used to write date of an event. For example the date is usually written like this (1012) or (1314) or (3613) etc. However, it is important to note that the first two figures refer to the week of production while the last two figures refer to the year of production. For instance, (1012) means 10th (tenth) week of the year 2012, (3613) means 36th week of the year 2013, etc. Therefore, if the manufacturing date of a tire is (1314) such tire is expected to expire after six (6) years of the said date which is (1320).

Transport economics is one of the most interesting courses I underwent as a university undergraduate in the department of Transport Planning and Management. It is a comprehensive economic knowledge that focuses on efficient transport operation with less expenditure in order to strengthen the nation’s economy.
Transport history reveals that transport, as it were, is as old as the existence of man’s creation on earth. Then, the personal and biological responsibility of man to search for his needs, mostly his daily food, could not be fully realized without an element of transport for his mobility; and the only relevant means of transport then was walking. Till now, walking still remains an indispensable and unique means of mobility. Truly speaking, it is difficult, if not impossible, to see a man who would engage in any activity without walking or without the use of any transport element.
However, a report of the economic activities of any given country is not complete without notable reference to the impact of transportation on the nation at large. The various demands for transport and the supply of transport facilities or resources such as road transportation network, rail tracks, ports as well as vehicle and vessels to meet such demands play a notable part in building and strengthening both rural and urban economy. It is also a notable factor in the development of other resources. These explain the need for transport economics.
In addition, the activities through which goods and services are produced, sold and bought within and outside a country cannot be possible without the element of transportation. Transportation gives undeniable support to production and trade in any region of a nation; therefore, the significance of transport economics cannot be overlooked in building a nation’s economy.
What is Transport Economics?
In economics, there are various areas of knowledge developed to solve various economic problems in different disciplines with the main focus to strengthen the national economy. For better understanding, these developed areas of economic knowledge are worthy of mention, and they include Industrial Economics, Agricultural Economics, National Economic Planning, Public Finance Economics, International Economics, Behavioural Economics, Ecological Economics, Environmental Economics, Health Economics, Information Economics, Monetary Economics, Population Economics, Urban Economics, among others. However, the question still remains: What is Transport Economics?
Transportation is concerned with the movement of people, goods and services from one place to another; while economics on the other hand is concerned with resources allocation. Therefore, transport economics is concerned with the careful allotment and efficient use of transport resources to meet various specific transport demands in the society or within an organization.
Transport economics aims to find maximum-value-use and less expenditure of all transport resources and infrastructure such as roads, vehicles, rail tracks, vessels, ports, railway stations, rail yards, signal systems, ships, airports, traffic control systems, etc., to meet particular or various transport demands.
The transport sector is faced with various factors that could affect its growth such as congestion, competition, shortage and poor infrastructure, political barrier, to mention a few. Hence, the need to apply economics as an effective means to tackle the various factors that can inhibit the growth of the transport sector becomes inevitable.
In essence, transport economics is a mechanism or tool that can be used to ensure the efficient use of different modes of transport so as to have better advantage from transportation and to strengthen the economy of a nation at local, regional, national and international levels.
In the world today, the transport sector remains the largest employer of labour as well as the largest industrial sector in the world, yet there are various problems that the transport industries and the transport consumers encounter during transport operations such as: high cost of freight transportation, rise and fall of air transport fares, keen competition and struggle to survive among transport industries of the same mode, high cost of aircraft fuel, undue cargo delay at seaport, undue passenger queue and delay at airport, bus stop and train station, high cost of running transport industry, to mention but few. However, it is noteworthy that transport economics is that branch of economics that provides strategic solution to these problems.
In order to gain maximum benefits from the transport sector and its operations, transport economics provide optimal economic management techniques to transport operations, organizational decision making, freight and passenger transportation, scientific organization of labour and wages, economic methods for measuring expenditures and economic impact or results in transport operation, etc. to the operation of all transport modes. These include rail transport, air transport, maritime transport, river transport, road transport and pipelines transport.
Transport economics is the area of economic knowledge designed to improve transportation. Transport economics experts develop scientific transport recommendations that can be extensively used to solve important transport problems and also help to relieve the transport system or sector of excessive work with little impact.
Importance of Transport Economics and Skills

Transport economics helps to understand political barriers that can inhibit transport operations.

Transport economics also contribute to economic development of a nation through job creation.

Transport economics makes economic activities possible through the efficient use of transport and also serves as a branch of economic knowledge to boost transport operations.

Transport economics can be used to support full multimodal transport operations and to also enhance transport capital development projects such as ports, rail track network, railway stations, among others.

Transport economics experts are equipped with training, skills and experience which enable them to identify the best measures to achieve certain transport goals or targets.

Transport economics ensures that the comprehensive benefits of transport investment accrues to all transport users rather than only direct users which has been the common practice in some transport sectors with a limited focus that ignores many potential benefits for transport users or transport service consumers at large.

It is important to stress that transport economics as a branch of knowledge in the field of economics is also designed to provide transport support to other economic branches of knowledge like Industrial Economics, Agricultural Economics, Health Economics, Labour Economics, etc. Hence the saying, ‘The thumb is a little finger that touches the other fingers’. Indeed, transport economics is a thumb that touches other areas of economic knowledge for efficiency.

Transport economics unit in any organization may also be concerned with providing reliable measures supported by quality data gathered to provide a sound basis for decision-making.

Transport economics unit can also undertake the task of combining and comparing results from different economic evaluation and estimation techniques so as to use as a tool for proper transport operation planning and management.

Transport economics unit can be saddled with the responsibility of conducting economic analysis of transport impacts and cost benefits assessment from types of investments made on transportation as well as measuring the effects on transport users.

In conclusion, transport infrastructure and transport providers are two key important factors for the transport sector to function. However, due to the increase in demand for transport services, there is also an increase in problems associated with transport services such as congestion, pollution, road accident, rail collision, rail derailment, cargo delay, etc. Therefore, the need to understand and to satisfy the high demand for transport services while reducing the expenditures and its associated risks to the barest minimum makes transport economics to remain most crucial.

Source: picssr.com
There are different modes of transport viz: Rail transportation, Sea Transportation, Air transportation, Road transportation and Pipeline transportation. However, in road transportation we have three (3) transport systems which are Road transport system, Rail transport system and monorail transport system, in all of these transport modes and systems, monorail is the most unpopular overland transport in developing countries.
The Characteristic of Monorail
Monorail is normally elevated above traffic, above congestion, above pedestrian and above vehicles. In fact, its grade is separated from surface traffic of all kinds, cars, trucks, trains, people, bicycle, motorcycle and so on. So that monorail can run without any interference from other means of transport thereby, improving traffic flow and reducing the accident rate. These are part of the uniqueness of monorail.
Monorail the Safest Transport System
In addition, monorail is the safest transport system because of its grade separation. It cannot for any reason whatsoever collide with cars or other vehicles or run over people or bicycles. In fact, people can ride bike or walk without having to look out for on coming vehicles or train as the case may be for any pedestrian who intends to cross the road or railway track. Monorail actually wraps around single ‘rail’ and it cannot derail like I said. Indeed, it is the safest transport for now in the world. It has a low accident rate when you compare it to other transport modes. For instance, the first fatal monorail accident occurred on the 5th of July, 2009, at Walt Disney World in Florida. In fact, it is first fatal accident ever happened in the 38 year history of the monorail system. You can imagine it yourself the number of accidents that might occurred in other modes of transport in 38 years. Therefore, my earlier assertion that monorail is the safest transport system is not a gain saying but a stark truth.
No Noise Pollution in Monorail Transport
More so, monorail does not make any noise on motion unlike cars, articulated vehicles (trailers), buses, air crafts and so on. In fact, it is the most quiet overland transport. It does not produce any harmful noise like that of automobiles or jet airplanes in an environment. Do you know that the noise produced by vehicles and air crafts can be annoying or disturbing a man in his environment? But monorail transport system does not produce such undesirable noise. It is environmental friendly.
Monorail uses Electricity not Fuel.
It is also important to let you know that monorail is electrically powered therefore; a standby power supply is usually made available for its operations. Since it is powered by electricity it does not pollute our environments as we have in road transport and air craft. Hence, it supports the green environment program. However, monorail does not take a wide space as any one may think; its line can be placed in the street within a space of 4 or 5 feet Column.
Monorail a Viable Public Transport
However, monorail has the capability to move large number of goods and people far more than what a luxurious bus can carry at once without interfering with any other land transport. Indeed, it is a good form of macro transportation. For instance, Walt Disney World monorail transport system in Florida, has one of the highest ridership in the world, it offers service to over 100,000 passengers in each day operations.
Nonetheless, the use of monorail as public transport system in urban cities makes the most economical sense of all over land transport. Increasing its usage is a better means of contributing to healthier environment as well as reducing road accidents and rail collision.

A car accident scene involving a drunk driver.
Road accident is a major contributing factor to the number of daily deaths in the world; virtually every day, people die in road accidents. The importance of road
transport to humanity cannot be overemphasized yet the number of deaths resulting from road accidents is undoubtedly worrisome. Painful enough, most of
these accidents are preventable; therefore, the need to be more sensitive to enforcing road safety policies must be ascertained without compromise by all the
agencies concerned.
The road safety agencies in different countries should embark on ‘Operation Reduce All Preventable Road Accidents’. I believe that if all these preventable
accidents can be reduced by half it would go a long way in reducing the number of deaths resulting from road accidents.
More so, to reduce road accidents, drivers’ behaviour while using the road must be modified. If we sincerely desire to reduce the road accidents on our public roads, the need to focus on the driver’s behaviour becomes inevitable. One of the reasons among others for increase in vehicle collision is the bad behaviour of some drivers or motorists. Therefore, one of the ways to minimize the number of vehicles colliding on public roads is to focus on drivers’ behaviour. We must ensure that they drive in a safe manner; in fact, safety must be their top concern and number one priority when using the road and they must ensure that their vehicles are properly maintained.
However, below are the accidents recorded around the world for the year 2016,
2017 and 2018 respectively.
2016
 February 6 – Nepal – Pasang Lhamu bus crash. A passenger bus fell off the Keurini cliff, below the road, into a ravine. Eleven people were killed and twelve others were injured.
 February 18 – Ghana – Bus collision in February 2016, Ghana. Head-on collision between a bus and a truck, 53 killed and at least 23 injured.
 March 20 – Spain – Erasmus bus crash, Valencia. A Tata Hispano passenger bus carrying Erasmus students from several countries home from the Fallas Festival in Valencia collided with a car on the Autovía A-7 motorway, near the town of Freginals. Thirteen foreign female students were killed.
 May 8 – Afghanistan – May 2016 Afghanistan road crash, Moqor district, Ghazni province. Two buses collided with a fuel tanker, killing 73 and injuring 50 more.
 June 7 – United States – In the Kalamazoo bicycle crash, a pickup truck
crashed into a group of cyclists killing five.
 July 19 – Taiwan – 2016 Taoyuan bus fire, Taoyuan. A tour bus caught fire,
killing 24 Chinese tourists, a Taiwanese tour guide, and the driver.
 August 15 – Nepal – 2016 Nepal bus crashes, Birtadeurali, Kavrepalanchok
District and Siddheshwar, Baitadi District. Two separate bus crashes in
Nepal led to the death of 30 people, with 52 injured.
 September 3 – Afghanistan – September 2016 Afghanistan road crash,
Zabul Province. A bus collided with a fuel tanker; 38 people were killed and
28 were injured.
 October 23 – United States – 2016 Interstate 10 tour bus crash, California.
A tour bus collided with the back of a semi-trailer truck, killing 13 while 31 others were injured.
 November 21 – United States – 2016 Chattanooga school bus crash, Chattanooga, Tennessee. An elementary school bus carrying dozens of students crashed, killing 6 students and injuring 23 others.
2017
 January 21 – Italy – 2017 Verona bus crash, Verona. A bus carrying school
from Hungary crashed and caught fire on the A4 near Verona a few minutes after midnight. 17 people were killed and 25 others were injured.
 February 20 – Philippines – 2017 Tanay bus accident, Tanay, Rizal. A tourist bus carrying more than 50 passengers crashed on a curved road after the vehicle apparently lost control and hit an electric post in Barangay Sampaloc in Tanay, Rizal. 15 people were killed and 40 were injured.
 April 18 – Philippines – 2017 Nueva Ecija bus accident, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija. A minibus carrying 77 passengers lost its brakes and fell off a ravine in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija. It is recorded as one of the deadliest road accidents in recent Philippine history, leaving 31 dead and 46 injured.
 June 25 – Pakistan – 2017 Bahawalpur explosion, near Ahmedpur East, Bahawalpur – 219 people were killed and at least 34 injured when a tanker
truck overturned and people rushed towards it to collect the leaking petrol.
 December 14 – France – Perpignan crash, Perpignan. A train crashed into a school bus on a level crossing between Millas and Saint-Féliu-d&#39;Amont in
the Arrondissement of Perpignan. Six pupils were killed and twenty-four others were injured.
 December 31 – Kenya – At least 36 people perished when a truck collided head-on with a bus near Migaa.
2018
 January 2 – Peru – 2018 Pasamayo bus crash. A coach bus plunged off a cliff on a coastal road in Peru, killing 48 people.
 January 18 – Kazakhstan – 2018 Aktobe bus fire, Aktobe. A bus carrying Uzbek migrant workers caught fire in Kazakhstan&#39;s Aktobe region, killing fifty-two people.
 February 10 – Hong Kong – 2018 Hong Kong bus accident. A bus carrying spectators and workers from horse races overturned in the New Territories area. 18 people were killed and 65 were injured.
 April 6 – Canada – Humboldt Broncos bus crash. Sixteen people were killed and 13 others injured when a semi-trailer truck and a bus carrying a junior ice hockey team collided near Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada.
 April 22 – North Korea – 2018 North Korea bus accident. A bus in North
Hwanghae Province, North Korea, transporting Chinese tourists fell off a bridge, killing 32 Chinese tourists and 4 North Koreans.
 May 25 – Uganda – 2018 Kiryandongo bus accident. A bus in Kiryandongo District collided with a tractor followed by a truck carrying beer, killing at least twenty-two people.
 October 6 – United States – A stretch limousine failed to stop at an intersection near Schoharie, New York, killing all 18 people in the vehicle and two pedestrians.
 October 10 – Kenya – At least 51 people died when a bus en route from Nairobi to Kisumu went off the road and plunged into a ravine.
Source: Wikipedia
Having gone through the above list of fatal road accidents around the world, one may be tempted to say that road transportation is a necessary evil. It is important
to note that road transportation is not evil neither is it designed to cause evil; it is the human factor that is responsible for most road accidents. And since it is obvious that road transport is inevitable in our daily activities, in fact, it is paramount in virtually every aspect of the economic, social and political activities of a nation as it is a key instrument to promoting, developing, and shaping the national economy. Therefore, the need to reduce unwanted and preventable road accidents must be the equal task of all of us.

Picture credited to: Alberta Motor Association (AMA)
Virtually everyone is a road user; everyone depends on road transport for one reason or the other. Indeed, it is an indispensable part of our daily activities which
also has a high element of risk. This explains why safety consciousness is very
important for all road users.
Road safety advice refers to suggestions that can keep road users safe from danger while using the road. The tips are as follows:
1. Do not be too much in a hurry to a place, programme, or an event while using the road. Why? It is better to arrive late than to be a late man.
2. Never use the road as if it belongs to you alone. We are all road users, so put others into consideration while making use of the road.
3. Never drive recklessly on the road. If you do, it may be a short cut to your early grave.
4. Overspeeding may excite you but it kills in a split second.
5. The best way to save lives while driving is to obey traffic rules.
6. If you drink don’t drive, and if you drive don’t drink. But if you prove otherwise, you’re the most dangerous person and a big fool. Why a fool? You are not advised not to drink or drive, you are only advised not to drive when you drink because alcohol can impair your driving ability; consequently making the road unsafe for all road users. So it is only a fool that is aware of danger but still refuses to ‘keep out’.
7. You may leave home early but unforeseen circumstances may cause unnecessary delay on the road; yet, do not overspeed. It is better to lose minutes or hours than to lose lives.
8. Your driving license is not enough without your determination to drive safe always; this is a key to road safety.
9. Don’t forget to use your seat belt. Observation reveals that death occurs as a result of occupants hitting their head against the windshield or being thrown out of the vehicle or banging against vehicle parts. More so, the seat belt also helps to protect a pregnant woman and her unborn child in a car. Nevertheless, pregnant women are advised to wear the lap belt low, in such a way that it pulls downward on the pelvic bones. In other words, they should not wear it against their abdomen. In short, the seat belt still remains the number one vehicle safety device.
10. Nonetheless, it does not hurt to obey traffic rules or yield to road safety tips or advice.
Finally, it is your civic duty as a motorist or road user to make the road safe for all.

Out of other modes of transport, air transport remains the number one choice of many travellers who would like to move from one nation to another or travel across continents. Its unique quality in providing safe and very fast transport services to thousands of people daily, mostly the businessmen, by linking them to where there are business opportunities in different locations around the world makes it the most preferable transport mode for international travellers. For instance, in 2016, globally air transport accounted for 3.6 billion passengers which is 48 per cent of the world population. (Source: NCAA Profile Oct. 2014-Oct. 2016)
The role of the aviation industry in the economy of any nation cannot be overemphasized; its enormous contributions to both domestic and international
trade have led to the economic growth and development of many nations in the
world. Besides, it is also a notable source of employment as the aviation industry
includes all airlines, airports, air navigation and other important ground services
that make air transport operations possible; they are all sources of notable employment for unemployed people.
Furthermore, air transport plays an important role in the global economy by enhancing world productivity, and providing links to expand different markets for
companies to operate. These important roles, among others, make air transport
indispensable. Hence, the need to make air transport safer is the fundamental duty of aviation industries and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
However, there are three distinctive factors why air transport is safer than other modes of transport. These factors are easily noticeable in the daily operations of all aviation industries in the world. They are:
1. Safety;
2. Security; and
3. Enforcement of Regulations and Procedures.
Safety
In the aviation industry safety policy is inevitable. It is the most important issue; the beginning and the end of its daily operations. In fact, meeting the flyer’s expectation is a top priority in the aviation industry. Safety in aviation refers to a
state in which risks associated with air transport are reduced to zero or to the barest minimum. There is no gainsaying that all activities in the aviation industry are embedded in safety policy, no aviation industry will like to take the issue of safety for granted.
For instance, on 18 July 2012, the African Ministerial Meeting on Aviation Safety held in Abuja, Nigeria, was focused on air transport safety, where the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) encouraged all aviation ministers in Africa to endorse and adopt the Africa Strategic Improvement Action Plan. This plan is meant to improve safety in aviation industries in all African countries. (Source: https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/strategic-action-plan-to-improve-aviation-safety-in-Africa.aspx)
Therefore, there is no continent in any part of the world where air transport safety should be taken for granted. It is a top priority in the aviation industry and till now, no other transport mode does it better than the aviation industry.
Furthermore, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has come up
with programmes to maintain regular safety operations in air transport, two of
such are Aviation Safety Implementation Assistance Partnership (ASIAP) which
was established in February 2015 and Safety Fund (SAFE).
The Aviation Safety Assistance Partnership (ASIAP) was created purposely to provide reasonable assistance to different nations in sharing safety information,
giving attention to the most important needs; jointly work with other nations in
assistance activities; support a resource mobilization strategy and agree on outcome indicators. In simple language, ASIAP aims to ensure the safety of operations in the aviation industry.
Safety Fund (SAFE): Is another safety programme under ICAO for aviation industries. SAFE’s priority is to improve air transport safety around the world through gathered fund. There are nations mostly in the developing countries that
have no financial capability to tackle serious safety inadequacies in their aviation
industries. This justifies the reason SAFE was established so as to rescue aviation
industries in such countries through donors and voluntary contributions from different nations.
By and large, air transport safety is a top priority in the aviation industry, therefore, all airlines, aircraft manufacturers, ICAO, IATA and government
regulators in different countries are all in collaboration to avoid any safety
problem that may jeopardize an aircraft’s ability to fly safely.
Security
Adequate security is another notable factor that makes air transport safer than other modes of transport. In aviation, security is the set of measures and resources that are used to prevent any malicious act such as terrorism, robbery, among others, against the smooth operation of air transport. In other words, security in aviation refers to all acts of illicit obstruction against civil aviation. One of the functions of ICAO is to prevent or reduce all unwanted acts of unlawful interference against civil aviation. However, there is a form referred to as Official Report on Acts of Unlawful Interference for all ICAO member states in different languages and as at November 2017, ICAO had 192 members. (Source: Wikipedia)
The form is meant to report any form of attack on air transport operations. This shows how important the issue of security is in the aviation industry. Due to the importance of the aviation industry to a nation’s economy, governments in different countries are also in collaboration with aviation industries to provide adequate security measures for the industry. For instance, the US government established Department of Homeland Security while the department also established Transport Security Authority (TSA) to manage security measures in the aviation industry.
Security against liquids, aerosol and gel materials: Another area of security concern that makes air travel safer is the area where flyers are checked to make sure they are not carrying liquid explosive substances or illegal materials into theaircraft. The use of liquid explosives is now a notable aviation security concern, hence, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has come up with guidelines on security controls for Liquids, Aerosol and Gels (LAGs).
Liquids are non-solid materials and aerosol is a substance usually kept under pressure in a container, which can be released or dispensed as a spray when a button is pressed while gel is also a substance that often looks like jelly. However,
in 2006, a terrorist plot was discovered when the terrorist tried to smuggle an improvised explosive device into an aircraft by carrying dangerous substances that looks like ordinary LAGs i.e. liquid, aerosol and gel. This explains why ICAO in October 2008 provided guidance material to ensure that the security control guidelines for LAGs are implemented harmoniously in all aviation industries in the world. Indeed, security is a serious matter in air transport.
Cyber-security: This is another issue of concern for all relevant stakeholders in the aviation industry. Vital information in the aviation industry needs to be highly protected from any unlawful interference, so as to make air transport safer. However, civil aviation cyber-security refers to measures taken to protect civil aviation information storage in electronic systems against any unauthorized
access or attack by cyber-criminals.
As a matter of fact, civil aviation relies so much on information and
communications technology (ICT) systems for efficient safety and smooth air transport operations, hence, the need to protect confidential information against cyber threats calls for adequate security for the ICT systems in aviation. Furthermore, after the ugly incident of September 11 2001 in the US, all stakeholders in aviation industries have been able to reach an agreement to put strong security measures in place that apparently frustrated the unlawful acts from criminal actors that would have made another big noise in the world.
Nevertheless, in 2013, an Industry High-level Group (IHLG) was created by stakeholders in the aviation industry which include International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); the Airports Council International (ACI); the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO); the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace
Industries Association (ICCAIA). It was created purposely as a tool to work for the benefit of all stakeholders on important matters or signify issues of common interest to aviation industries such as aviation cyber-security. The Industry High- level Group (IHLG) is expected to protect civil aviation from any form of cyber threats. Truly speaking, in all modes of transport, air transport is second to none in the area of safety and security.
Enforcement of Regulations and Procedures
The strong enforcement of regulations and procedures by airport authorities is one of the reasons why air transport is safer for flyers. The enforcement of improved regulations and smart procedures, to as well align with ICAO standards, is a notable way for an airline’s growth and sustainability.
It is my personal opinion that, if airports are going to be well positioned to play a
significant role in supporting the aviation sector in the area of safety and security,
a strong enforcement of safety regulations and procedures must not be undermined. The inspection of aircraft worthiness; the pilots, engineers, cabin
staff and crew’s fitness in compliance with relevant regulations and procedures
mostly in respect of alcohol consumption, drug use, crew rest time, carrying out
pre-flight inspection procedure by using the prescribed checklist; entering of defects in the aircraft technical logbook, maintenance with approved techniques,
methods and practice, regularities in maintenance procedures and records, flying
aircrafts before expiration of flight clearance and so on, must not be compromised. Otherwise, increase in the violation of civil aviation regulations and procedures by airlines, pilots, engineers and cabin crew that can jeopardize the safety and smooth operation of air transport will be inevitable.
However, air transport authorities understand the high risk involved in the violation of air transport regulations and procedures. Hence, to ensure compliance, violators can be sanctioned and such sanctions could be strict warning, suspension, fines, outright cancellation of airworthiness certificates, withdrawal of license as well as grounding of aircrafts among others. For instance, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia sanctioned an individual pilot and airline for violating civil aviation regulations and procedures.
The following are examples of recent enforcement decisions by CASA in Australia:
On 12 July 2018, ‘Investigations conducted by CASA revealed that the pilot had knowingly operated an aircraft with major damage following a landing incident. This conduct was in contravention of multiple provisions of the Civil Aviation Act including 20A and 20AA(4). The pilot’s conduct was considered to be more serious in this instance because this was the second recent occasion in which he had been
found deliberately flying an aircraft without satisfying applicable airworthiness requirements. Being satisfied that the pilot had failed to properly discharge his duties as a pilot and was not therefore, a fit and proper person to be the holder of a PPL, a delegate of CASA decided to cancel the pilot’s PPL pursuant to regulation 269 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.’
Note: PPL means Private Pilot License-Aeroplane. This means the license to operate private aircraft was cancelled.
On 21 March 2018, ‘Investigations conducted by CASA in the wake of a fatal accident in 2017 revealed that the conduct of the accident flight by the pilot involved significant and dangerous non-compliance with the aviation legislation including conduct regarded as reckless and/or negligent, contrary to section 20A of the Civil Aviation Act and regulation 282(4) of the Civil Aviation Regulations. Being satisfied that the pilot had failed to properly discharge his duties as a pilot and was not, therefore, a fit and proper person to be the holder of a PPL or a CPL, a delegate of CASA decided to cancel the pilot’s PPL and CPL pursuant to regulation 269 of the Civil Aviation Regulations.’
Note: PPL means Private Pilot License-Aeroplane CPL means Commercial Pilot License-Aeroplane. It means the pilot’s 2 licenses to operate both private and commercial aircrafts were cancelled.
On 30 June 2017, ‘An investigation into the circumstances surrounding a fatal crash of an R44 helicopter near Cape Tribulation in North Queensland in April 2016 revealed that the pilot had contravened a number of provisions of the aviation legislation. This included flying after dark without an appropriate rating, flying without a valid medical certificate and engaging in reckless operation of an aircraft. The pilot’s PPL-H was cancelled under the provisions of sub regulation 269(1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.’
Note: PPL-H means Private Pilot License-Helicopter. It means its license to operate private helicopter was cancelled.
Source: https://www.casa.gov.au/enforcement-action/standard-page/decisions-
suspensions-and-cancellations
Furthermore, my observation reveals that, failure of airport authorities to enforce regulations and procedures that will ensure high rate of compliance of all parties concerned in air transport industries may also increase the flyers’ right abuse. It is worthy to note that many flyers have suffered their worst right abuse in the hands of airline operators probably due to the lack of regulation of air transport industries on the issue of consumer protection or poor enforcement of such regulations, for instance, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. These two airlines cheated their passengers worldwide between 2004 and 2006 with hidden charges. When it was discovered by US regulatory authorities, the airlines refunded all its cheated passengers in the US and Europe but refused to refund the over 300,000 Nigerian passengers who suffered the same hidden charges on the grounds that Nigeria had no consumer protection law that they violated. In fact, they argued that even Aviation Act 2006 was not in place. (Source: NCAA Regulatory Profile)
Having gone through the above paragraphs, I hope you will also agree with me that air transport is safer than other modes of transport.

If one examines the social and economic impact of road transportation in any given nation, it will not be an over statement to say it’s a notable factor for national development. This is so because of its great flexibility that leads to enormous contribution to the rapid, social and economic development in our rural communities and urban areas.
However, using land transportation to increase trade flows across borders of neighboring countries has a lot of benefits for such countries. Why? I guess you may want to ask, firstly, trade as it were has great potential to create wealth; to reduce poverty and to sustain economic growth, while land transportation on the other hand plays a key role in production and distribution of goods and services as well as, creating employment for many people. This means road transportation as it were, plays both direct and indirect roles to reduce poverty and to sustain economic growth.
So, due to the enormous contribution of road transportation to national development of any nation in the world, hence, the need for international road transportation between neighboring countries to boost international trade on domestically produced products of good quality becomes inevitable.
Governments of these neighboring countries realizing the important need to take the advantage of their proximity to complement each other with their peculiar products so as to boost their economy. The issue of economic growth must be a matter of concern to any serious government. Having realized this fact hence, the comparative means of transport to achieve this goal is international road transportation.
So, what is International Road Transportation?
International road transport refers to land transportation between two or more neighboring countries. It can also be seen as trans-border road transportation. In other words, it is the movement of people and goods among countries that share common borders through roads agreed by the neighboring countries for their international transportation. Better still, it is the movement of goods and people by road transport across national boundaries of neighboring countries.
However, all vehicles used in roads territorial boundaries are expected to meet the requirements of traffic rule and standards set by neighboring countries. Such agreement may include the size, the weight, type of goods allowed, width of the vehicle, joint acknowledgement of driver licenses etc
Why is it the Most Preferable Mode among Neighboring Countries?
There are reasons why land transportation is judged as the best mode for international transportation among other modes, here are the reasons:
For instance, Sea transport is cheaper but very slow when you compare it to road transport while air transport is very fast but much costlier than road transport, likewise, rail is also cheaper than road transport but not as flexible as road transport that has the quality to offer door-to-door services therefore, only the road transport has comparative advantage over other modes although, it’s not cheaper than sea and rail transport yet it’s not as cost as air transport.
Also time sensitivity is another notable advantage of road transport over other modes of transportation. Even though it is not as fast as air transport yet because of its flexibility it’s comparatively faster than other transport modes. For instance, sea and air transport operations end in their ports while rail transport also ends in railway station hence, clearing of goods, loading, off loading and other related activities at the ports and railway station delay the movement of goods to the last destination and none of them has the quality to provide door-to-door transport services like road transport.
Another uniqueness of road transport is that, it is the only transport mode that can complement other modes of transport.
Examples of Countries that Share Common Road across-border
There are countries with bilateral agreement to share common road that links 2 or more countries together, here are few examples:

China and Mongolia

Mongolia and Russian Federation

Mongolia and Republic of Kazakhstan

Source: Ministry of Road and Transport Mongolia

China and Kazakhstan

China and Uzbekistan

China and Kyrgyzstan

China and Tajikistan

China and Russia

China; Pakistan; Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

Source: The introduction of International Road Transport Agreements of China: Ministry of Transport of China, Mar. 25, 2015.
Many neighboring nations realizing the need to complement each other well with their peculiar products and also to enhance economic cooperation among themselves, these among other reasons justify the need for cheap, fast and timely or ‘just in time’ transport services to move their quality domestic products across borders therefore; the most suitable solution to achieve this is international road transport.
It is interesting to note that no government of any nation in the world has sufficiently developed to offer employment to all its unemployed citizens; this explains why we have high number of unemployed youths in different parts of the world especially in developing countries.
So, the issue of unemployment is a universal problem, therefore, international road transportation is a notable solution to unemployment because it will definitely aid production and international trade thereby, providing both direct and indirect job opportunities to many citizens.

There are several people around the world living in rural communities where half of them are peasant farmers. Such people mostly in Africa rely most on oldest form of transportation which is walking or trekking, this form of transport limit them to access social amenities while also increase the level of poverty among them, these among others are the likely problems people living in rural areas are likely to face.
To this end, introduction of road transport system in rural areas is a major solution for a sustained socio-economic development in such communities; more so, it’s an important means to enhance national integration. However, here are the benefits of providing road transport in rural areas:

Access to several rural areas is a sign of improved road network resulting into higher availability of farm inputs at a low price.

It brings about employment opportunities.

It increases access to social amenities.

It plays a vital role of promoting development in rural communities.

It promotes national integration.

It is a tool for poverty alleviation.

It provides continuity in moving people and agric produce from rural communities to urban areas.

It provides the farmer the opportunity to quickly move perishable commodities to the market centers or places where they are needed.

It promotes sense of belonging.

Nevertheless, one of the major cause of poverty in rural communities is lack of access to good road transportation, therefore, having read this article, it is understandable that, access to good road transportation is a notable factor to develop rural communities.

The important of transportation at large for economic development of any nation cannot be over emphasized. Without transportation it is difficult if not impossible for a nation to develop, in fact, good transport infrastructures and road network that lead to transport efficiency is a sign of a developed nation. However, as important as all modes of transport are to the economic development of a nation, it is important to note that road transportation still plays an important or unique role to other modes of transportation.
Road Transportation and Its Uniqueness
Transport modes provide people the opportunity to choose a suitable mode for their journey or products, but road transportation does not only provides opportunity for people to choose rather with good road network, it also complements other modes of transport. This makes it the only indispensable mode to other modes of transport, no any other modes has the keen competitive quality and capacity to perform this significant role of road transport, as to provide extra mile to complete any journey made by other modes of transport.
For instance, traveling by air begins and ends at air port; traveling by sea begins and ends at sea port; traveling by railway begin and ends at railway station and while journey on inland waterway begins and ends at jetty or water wharf. However, most of these transport modes lack the capacity to provide door-to-door transport services to passengers hence, road transport provides this extra-mile transport needs to complement each mode, this shows the uniqueness of road transportation.
Truly speaking road transport plays vital roles by facilitating movement of people and materials, helping trade and commerce, linking industry and agriculture to market places and open-up of new settlements and more importantly, providing transport needs or services to complement other modes of transport.
Nevertheless, as it is noted earlier, good road network is needed to enhance growth and development, therefore, no successful enterprise or developed nation without efficient use of road transportation.